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Suicide Prevention Resource Centre

Charitable Organization No. 82052559RR0001

Nordic Court 200, 10014 99St Grande Prairie, AB T8V 3N4 780.539.6680 manager@sp-rc.ca fax 780.539.6574 www.facebook.com/suicideprevent www.sp-rc.ca

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Table of Contents MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ............................................................................................. 4

BOARD OF DIRECTORS (AS OF MARCH 31, 2020) ........................................................................................................ 5 PROGRAM STAFF (AS OF MARCH 31, 2020) ................................................................................................................. 5

SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCE CENTRE CORE PROGRAM ................................................................. 5 FUNDRAISING AND DONATIONS .............................................................................................................................. 6 VOLUNTEERS ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCE NETWORK (SPRN) .............................................................................................. 7 CRISIS AND CONSULTATION SERVICES ..................................................................................................................... 7 WORKSHOPS ............................................................................................................................................................ 7

THE BREAKFAST CLUB .................................................................................................................................... 8 TOUGH ENOUGH TO TALK ABOUT IT ......................................................................................................... 9 MEN’S SUPPORT GROUP .............................................................................................................................. 10 COMMUNITY HELPERS .................................................................................................................................. 11 CONNECT ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 RESOURCE CENTRE FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION FUNDING ................................................................... 13 AREAS SERVED .............................................................................................................................................. 14

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Message from the Executive Director Dear Friends and Colleagues, This is the time of year where we take a moment to evaluate our success over the past year and identify areas where we can improve. Thank you for making 2020 another remarkable year for the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre. This year marked a lot of changes for our organization and our dedicated staff has done an incredible job at expanding our outreach while strengthening our programs and services. You will see as you review this annual report, that in this last year we have accomplished a number of key initiatives proposed by the Board or initiated because of input from our members. We have been spending a great deal of time working on the future of SPRC, to ensure that it will be there to serve our community well in the long term. A few program highlights include: 191 participants trained in ASIST (Suicide Prevention Training) 5352 hours of direct service delivery to youth through The Breakfast Club Youth Program 314 youth trained in Community Helpers program at four schools 1436 industry workers participated in Tough Enough To Talk About It presentations 1620 community members participated in Connect public education presentations Our ongoing goal is to keep serving the community to the best of our abilities while increasing our service to the field of suicide prevention. The Suicide Prevention Resource Centre is stronger than ever due to our continually expanding community who comes together to donate time, resources and talent in support of our important mission. This year alone we raised over $100,000 and our volunteers logged over 1600 hours. I am proud to be a part of the Suicide Prevention team and I look forward to build upon its great legacy, working alongside our board members, amazing staff and community partners, and pursuing our major goals. Thank you wholeheartedly for being involved in our organization and we are eager to continue expanding our reach and serving the Grande Prairie area and surrounding communities. Sincerely, Ainsley Miller Executive Director

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Suicide Prevention Resource Centre Team Board of Directors (As of March 31, 2020)

Tracy King, President Connie Korpan Shawna Prince, Vice President Pamela Nordin Stacy Harrison, Secretary/Treasurer Leisa Peters Charlotte Bierman Tanya Ray Doug Currie

Program Staff (As of March 31, 2020)

Ainsley Miller, Executive Director Tammy Monro, Executive Assistant Katie Harrison, Breakfast Club Coordinator Raemona Smith, Community Helpers Coordinator Faris Atkinson, Connect Coordinator Richard Nasedkin, Men’s Support Group Facilitator Shane Anderson, Tough Enough Coordinator

Suicide Prevention Resource Centre Core Program Vision To reduce suicide, suicidal behaviour, and their effects, by promoting positive

alternatives and healthy coping skills. Mission To listen to people’s stories of their struggles with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, and help them find hope and support through increased coping skills and healthy behaviours To raise awareness and understanding of head health and promote open dialogue in our community about mental health issues

To support those who are suffered loss to suicide, to listen to their heartbreaking stories, and to help them find understanding and strength to move forward. To teach that it is life-saving to ask about suicide thoughts and to reach out to help friends and family members find support and resources they need to live healthy, productive lives. To keep faith with our community, to best manage the financial resources entrusted to us, and to respect and value our dedicated and passionate employees.

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Overall SPRC Goals • To help prevent fatal and nonfatal suicidal behaviour • To reduce the impact of fatal and nonfatal suicide behaviour on individuals, families, and communities • To improve awareness of services for at-risk persons • To advocate for better access to availability of appropriate services for at-risk and vulnerable persons

Fundraising and Donations

Funders Alberta Health Services City of Grande Prairie Community Foundation of Northwest Alberta County of Grande Prairie MD of Greenview

Northwest Children & Family Services Swan City Rotary Club of Grande Prairie Town of Sexsmith United Way Alberta Northwest

Generous Donors in kind and cash donations over $500

97.7 ROCK Angie Peters & John Krol - Royal LePage Art & Soul Hair Design Bama Furniture Bowling Stones Brad Lynch Band Canadian Mental Health Association GP Carol DeHaus Commandeur Mechanical Crown & Anchor Pub Curry’s Jewellers Don Whiteford Dunes Golf & Country Club Fletcher Mudryk LLP Freelance Energy Friesen Bain LLP Gordan Pellerin GP River Rats Grower Direct Flowers Henry & Jodie Neudorf Hyer Oilfield Maintenance & Consulting Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Joey Shields Jackpot Grill & Bar

Judy Grendys Kaidak Energy Services Inc. Kathy Temple Katrina Favell Kelly Burake Kris Glenn Lavonne Wytrykush and Erin Jubb Lesley Craig – Century 21 Lyle Anderson MAJ photography MR MIKES Steakhouse Causal Nurses’ Week Committee Peace Draft Club Richer Currie LLP Scotiabank Seven Generations Tanya Ray The RADlife Tiedemann Family Trevor Bartsch UrbanAds Wapiti Shooters Club Weyerhaeuser

Volunteers We would like to extend a massive THANK YOU to our volunteers who supported us by working over 1600 hours.

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Suicide Prevention Resource Network (SPRN) We held 4 SPRC quarterly meetings with a total of 22 unique agencies including:

Alberta Health Services GPRC Student Services Pace Centre AHS Integrated Crisis Access Team (ICAT) GP Volunteer Services Bureau Pregnant and Parenting Teens Catholic Family Services John Howard Society Pregnancy Care Centre GP & District Grief Support Northreach Society Police & Crisis Team (PACT) GP & District Victim Services NW Peace FASD Network Seniors Outreach GP Family Education Society Odyssey House Stepping Stones Day Care Society GP Friendship Centre Oliver’s Funeral Home Sunrise House (GPYESS)

Crisis and Consultation Services 54 crisis calls and emergency resource response

Workshops 265 people were trained across 6 Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) workshops, 3 HEAR workshops, 2 ASIST Tune-ups, and 1 Mental Health First Aid. One workshop was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Social Media We have a combined total of 4380 likes on our Facebook platform, an increase of 17% from last year across all pages. Men’s Support group saw the biggest increase of page likes, increasing to 525 up from 298 in 2018.

We have seen an increase in website traffic. More people are using search engines to find information and staying on the website longer. We are also seeing an increase of unique user

visitors. The pages that have seen the biggest increase in traffic are Tough Enough to Talk about it, Men’s Support Group, and Resources.

CORE, 2444

BC, 878

CH, 533

MSG, 525

8148

27902

10157

34465

010000200003000040000

Users Page Views

Website

2019 2020

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The Breakfast Club

§ 3 Teen Retreats Weekends § 3 Preteen Workshops § 1 Children’s Workshop

48 teens participated in weekend retreats, 129 teens participated in 7 friendship and support nights 70 pre-teens participated in workshops, 70 pre-teens participated in 16 follow up sessions 15 children participated in a workshop 15 children attended 2 follow up sessions 5352 hours of service delivered to youth!

Quotes Parents: “My youth identified emotions and talks about what others maybe experiencing. I can ask her to use other skills that she learnt when she is upset.” “My relationship with my son was already improving and this really boosted it. Thank you!” “I feel they are able to validate the actual feeling instead of just mad/mad/happy”

“She was able to use a tool in order to deal with big emotions, the first time she lost control of her anger and was mad for a very long time. The next time she realized she was going to get very angry so she brought out her stress puzzles (coping skills) and used a skill right away. It was so awesome to see her realize her emotions and how they affect her.”

Youth: “I feel more at ease with myself and how to cope with my depression.” “I will try to talk to people more often for help.”- Teen “Thank you for teaching how to move on with hard things.”- Teen

Facilitators

Zoë Best Kim Burgess

Danielle Callihoo Dean Enyedy

Ashley Driedger Daylan Driedger Kirsten Kramer Patty Rolinger Dennis Shinski

100% of preteens indicated that they learned new ways to calm themselves down when they are angry or stressed. 100% of children’s parents surveyed agreed that their youth has improved their communication of emotions/feelings with me. 100% of teen parents surveyed stated that their teen has been able to cope better with situations in their life. 76% of teens reported they feel more comfortable asking for help when they need it after attending a retreat weekend.

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Tough Enough To Talk About it

1436 participants attended 56 presentations Our community partners held 17 presentations outside of the GP region.

87% of participants surveyed stated they learned what to say if they find someone struggling

87% of participants surveyed stated they learned the signs and warnings to watch for in themselves and others

88% of participants surveyed stated they now knew what help was available and where to find it

100% of participants surveyed said they would recommend the presentation to others.

Testimonials: “I just wanted to say a huge “thank you” to yourself and your entourage for the presentation last night. I had many good comments after about how informative it was. You made it very personal. That goes to show that other people have tough things to talk about and it’s ok to do so! Anyways just wanted to say thank you again and if you could pass on a huge thank you to the ladies that accompanied you, it would be appreciated! I felt you did a great job relating it to first responders and the messages just drive it home.”

“Our topic for our monthly safety meeting was on mental wellness in the workplace. The desire was to open the door to the topic of mental health/suicide in the workplace as we recognize this to be a growing area of concern in the workplace, with men in particular. This topic also hit home for a number of the staff as our organization has had a few of our employees die by suicide in more recent years. We had 2 presentations from the Tough Enough Program focusing on recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression, how the symptoms present differently for males than females and the importance of normalizing the conversation of depression/suicide in the workplace to reduce shame and isolation for individuals who are struggling. The presentation also provided tools for us to have that difficult conversation. What made this presentation even more impactful was that the presenter shared his own story of his personal struggles which made the presentation all the more relatable for our male dominated audience. Our staff were talking about it for days and I am confident that as a result of the presentation there was a dramatic increase in our staff recognizing when a co-worker is struggling and reaching out. As a large oil & gas service company, we see the challenges people face first hand. A majority of our employees are males, who are working away from home for extended periods of time and are cycling between day and night shifts. This situation is strenuous on individuals, marriages and families. These stresses alone can lead to depression and in some circumstances leading individuals to self-medicate or to take their own lives. The losses we have experienced as a company and the rate of leave of absence to mental illness confirms everything the statistics speak and is consistently increasing. This program is extremely important in helping individuals and employers in industry begin to mitigate the contributing factors and provide education and support to those impacted. As an organization we wholeheartedly support and recommend this program and view it as an essential component to any employee wellness strategy.”

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Men’s Support Group 2019 saw an increase in attendance, visits, and

return visits. A total of 74 participants over

392 visits.

Our program provided 784 hours of support to men struggling with a loss.

100% of attendees feel less isolated and alone as a result of attending the meetings

80% of attendees felt they have more people they can rely on for help after.

75% of men who attended the group experienced a positive change in their abilities to cope with their difficulties.

Most frequent attendance was 34 visits 27 attended one day. 13 attended twice 12 attended 3-5 times 5 attended 6-9 times 9 attended over 10 times 4 attended over 20 times Identified Occupations: 11 work in industry 19 work in oilfield 12 were unemployed 14 were self employed 12 were professionals 6 are retired or long-term disability

Referrals:

43 were referred by other agencies 5 from online resources (2 Facebook) 6 referred by a female partner 8 referred by a past participant 2 saw the sign outside 10 brought by returning a participant Reason for attending:

14 dealing with the death of someone close 2 dealing with the suicide of someone close 16 were actively working with an addiction 10 were dealing with unemployment 37 were dealing with relationship loss.

Successes Every man that walks through the door and finds a safe place to express himself, who finds a peer group with similar experiences and the resources they need and becomes aware of community assets is a success story. Retention is up, attendance is up, and to see many participants ready to move to a next stage of support where they do not require as much assistance and can be a mentor to incoming participants is a huge success of the support group.

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Community Helpers

Community Helpers Program is a free training initiative available in schools, workplaces and community groups for youth ages 12 to 30, as well as adults who support this age group (teachers, coaches etc.).

With such a huge demand for this service the focus was narrowed down to grade 9 students in the Grande Prairie region and delivered during school health classes. This allowed us to provide consistent, high quality training without worrying about overlap or modification of the program to meet different demographics.

The schools served include: • Charles Spencer High School • Helen E Taylor School • Sexsmith Secondary School • Peace Wapiti Academy

291 surveys given

314 Community Helpers trained or partially trained

16 groups of students trained

233 students completed training

81 students completed partial training due to COVID-19

Feedback from youth

“I liked this program. It helped me have stronger knowledge on mental health and resources.” – Helen E. Taylor

“It’s good that this program is here to help.” - Charles Spencer

“This program made me very aware of how to deal with my own problems, where to get help and how to help others. I appreciate the program coming into our school and teaching us these things.” - Charles Spencer

“It notifies me of something’s happening in our community and that we have support systems” - Charles Spencer

“It’s a great program for something that isn’t usually talked about.” - Sexsmith Secondary

“I like the program; it was a good learning process for me and possibly other students. The program talked about real issues in our community and showed a good lesson in the end.” - Sexsmith Secondary

“Very helpful information if I ever need it.” - Sexsmith Secondary

“It was very helpful, and I learned a lot” -Charles Spencer

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Successes Providing a break during a presentation, a participant spoke to the presenter describing her worry about her son, especially after hearing about the information provided in the presentation about suicide and depression. She explained her concerns and what she has already done to provide emotional support to her son. The presenter asked, “When you talk to him and tell him you love him, do you also give him a list of things he needs to do to be healthy?” She said she did. She felt like she needed to call him now and say those things again. The Presenter told her to call her son now, but instead of telling him what he needs to do, just tell him you were thinking of him, you miss him, and you love him very much. Don’t add any ‘buts’ or suggestions…just tell him you love him. She did that and upon returning to class, thanked the presenter and said it was exactly what he needed to hear just then. The participant remarked that she felt we had just saved her son’s life. She was extremely grateful and appreciative of all the information in the presentation and how she was already able to implement the knowledge to her own life.

Connect

Connect reached a Total 1620 people in 2019 8 people attended a self-harm presentation

56 people attended HeadTalks presentations Connect presentations touched a total of 679 people

8 Community Events were held with over

540 participants. These events include our yearly Darkness to Light walk with over 150 attendees. Connect was involved in 19 Radio interviews and media releases. A total of 15 individuals were provided with bereavement support.

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Resource Centre for Suicide Prevention Funding This year we brought in a total of $238,955.62 from donations and fundraising! Of that total, $132,683.50 was raised during the Chair Extraordinaire.

$6,643.00$1,017.25

$2,619.60

$14,632.20

$4,775.00$59,509.68

Donations and Fundraising

Facebook fundraisers

Shine your light

Raffle

Individuals and families

Chair donations

Businesses and commitees

$23,281.00

$31,950.00

$7,875.00

$69,577.50

Chair ExtraordinaireBefore expenses

Silent Auction

Chair Auction

Raffle

Ticket sales and donations

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Areas Served

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Grande Prairie Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö County of GP Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Beaverlodge Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Wembley Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Sexsmith Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Spirit River Ö Ö Ö Ö Hythe Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Horse Lake First Nation Ö Ö Ö Ö Clairmont Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Rycroft Ö Ö Ö Ö Ö Edmonton Ö Grande Cache Ö Ö Fox Creek Ö Little Red River Cree Nation Ö

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